Poster Winners

April 13, 2015

On April 9, more than 550 attendees participated in the third annual Public Health Research@ Maryland day, held at the Stamp Student Union. This year’s theme, The Changing Climate and Health, which focused on how climate change and health care reform are changing population health, brought together leading researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore campuses, along with experts from county, state and federal health agencies, private research and consulting organizations, non-profit organizations and corporate entities.

A robust poster competition featured 128 research posters, representing researchers from more than 11 universities, as well as five of the schools/colleges on the College Park campus (Agriculture and Natural Resources, Engineering, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences and Public Health) and five from the Baltimore campus (Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Social Work). Both UMD President Wallace Loh and Provost Mary Ann Rankin attended and heard poster presentations from individual students, with President Loh commenting on the “impressive” research. President Jay Perman and Provost Jarrell from UMB also attended the dynamic research event, along with School of Medicine (SOM) Dean Al Reece and Professor Jay Magaziner, chair of the SOM’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health.

Volunteer judges with expertise in the relevant research category selected the winning submissions from those presented by students. Students presented the majority of posters (73%), and more than half reflected research collaborations that spanned more than one college or school. Awards were given to three categories of student presenters: undergraduate, master, and doctoral level students. The research reported on by the award recipients reflect the diversity of all presented posters and provide insights of relevance to state, national and global communities. Katherine Garcia-Rosales’ first place poster in the undergraduate category on water chlorination and health education was co-authored by students from SPH’s behavioral and community health and kinesiology departments, as well as UMD engineering undergraduate Robert Kramer. This study is part of the partnership between Public Health Without Borders and Engineers Without Borders. The partnership includes students and faculty mentors collaboratively addressing health needs of global communities and was conducted in a rural Andrean community in Peru. The three undergraduate students receiving Honorable Mention revealed the diversity of studies in public health. These include studies relevant to the Food and Drug Administration’s consumer materials that were assessed for their health literacy and cultural competence characteristics (Jonathan Fix); relevant to the Department of Veterans Affairs exploring stressors and coping strategies for women veterans and their parenting transitions (Emma Murray); and relevant to the Department of Defense by studying the effects of cognitive load and its effect on flight simulation in beginner pilots (Abigail Hsiung).

Two master students tied for first place. UM SOM student Sarah Kilby’s poster on “Assessing Compliance for Proposed CACFP Meal Pattern Changes…” included co-authors from the Maryland State Department of Education as well as faculty from the Department of Pediatrics and revealed important findings to consider for future oversight of CACFP compliance of Maryland childcare centers. UMD SPH Kinesiology student Dovin Keirnan’s study “Vertical ground reaction force…” explored measurement of risks for injury in runners, contributing to understanding the balance between health versus injury outcomes. The honorable mention recipients reported on studies that examined the use of post-market surveillance to compare the safety and effectiveness of two types of coronary stents (Jessica Bermudez); compared Google Flu Trend data to Maryland’s formal reporting system for influenza-like illness (Lisa Bowen); and explored self-esteem as a mediator in relationships between depressive symptoms and sexual minority status (Diane Ng).

Maria Demarco, UMD SPH, received first place in the doctoral student category for a study examining factors that contribute to Human Papilloma Virus vaccine completion, important to ensuring the effectiveness of this vaccine. Honorable mention was awarded to three students who reported on investigations of factors related to health status of young adults with disabilities in a national longitudinal study (Sue Lin); factors related to contraceptive use among urban adolescent mothers (Deirdre Quinn); and a study identifying birth outcome hotspots in Maryland (Andrew Williams).

We congratulate all the poster winners on their stellar research and thank the judges for their contribution to a successful Public Health Research@ Maryland showcase. Poster titles are linked to the full abstract and list of co-authors.